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BellSouth Makes Headway in the Broadband Battle

In the race to provide ever-increasing speeds to Broadband customers, BellSouth Corporation announced its plans to offer High Speed Internet access at speeds up to 50 Mbps to 10 percent of its existing customer base. This upgrade will affect 1.35 million homes, mostly in the Southeast, where BellSouth has already laid fiber-optic cable within 250 feet of homes.

The upgrade is expected to occur in the second half of 2007, according to Bill Smith, chief technology officer of Bell South. However, Bell South has yet to disclose how much this upgrade with cost.

The Upgraded DSL Technology

To make this High Speed Internet upgrade possible, Bell South is using a variant of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology called VDSL2. This technology allows for speeds much faster than traditional DSL, which for most Bell South DSL customers tops off at 6 Mbps.

VDSL2 or Very High Bit Rate Digital Subscriber Line 2 technology taps into existing networks of copper wires. Therefore, the new technology is geared toward customers that have fiber optic technology relatively close to their homes. In the 1.35 million homes that will be part of the upgrade, Bell South will use an existing network technology called “Fiber to the Curb” or FTTC.

For the VDSL2 upgrade, BellSouth has been working with equipment maker Tellabs. In addition to the homes slated to access VDSL2 technology, some apartment complexes may use the technology where is makes economic sense.

BellSouth hopes this upgrade will make the company more competitive in the constant battle for broadband customers. In particular, the company is looking to attract high-end subscribers who are willing to pay higher prices for higher speeds.

Other High Speed Upgrades

Homes slated for the VDSL2 upgrade aren’t the only customers scheduled for a speed upgrade. BellSouth is also planning to upgrade other regions with another DSL variant. This variant will boost speeds to 20 to 25 Mbps. With both DSL variants, Bell South plans to offer High Speed Internet and other entertainment services, including Video-on-Demand and Television via the Internet.

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